The Quail Hollow pro-am traditionally draws the likes of Michael Jordan and NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson, but this year Hougham convinced Arnold Palmer to play the Wednesday event with his grandson Sam Saunders, who is playing the event on a sponsor exemption, and club president Johnny Harris.

“Arnold is a perfect fit,” Hougham explains. “He used to live here, he was best friends with Johnny Harris’ father and Johnny and redesigned the course once.”

Hougham estimates large crowds for Wednesday’s pro-am largely because the Charlotte galleries never get to see Palmer. “They see him all the time at Bay Hill, but not here,” he said.

Palmer is also the perfect stand-in for Jordan, who is not playing the pro-am this year. Seems like a fair trade, the King for “His Airness.”

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Hoggard, a senior writer, covers the PGA Tour and appears on-air in several capacities.